Shrek 2
Shrek 2 is a 2004 American computer-animated, comedy film directed by Andrew Adamson, Kelly Asbury and Conrad Vernon. It is the sequel to 2001's Shrek and the second installment in the Shrek film franchise. The film stars Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy and Cameron Diaz, who reprise their respective voice rolesof Shrek, Donkey, and Fiona. They are joined by new characters voiced by Antonio Banderas, Julie Andrews, John Cleese, Rupert Everett, and Jennifer Saunders. Shrek 2 takes place following the events of the first film, with Shrek and Donkey meeting Fiona's parents as her zealous Fairy Godmother, who wants Fiona to marry her son Prince Charming, plots to destroy Shrek and Fiona's marriage. Shrek and Donkey team up with a swashbuckling cat named Puss in Boots to foil her plans. Development began in 2001, and following disagreements with producers, the screenwriters from the first film were replaced with Adamson. The story was inspired by Guess Who's Coming to Dinner (1967), and new animation tools were utilized to improve the visual appearance of each character, particularly Puss in Boots. The lead actors also received a significant bump in salary to $10 million, which at the time was among the highest contracts in their respective careers. Shrek 2 premiered at the 2004 Cannes Film Festival, where it competed for the Palme d'Or, and it was released in theatres on May 19, 2004. Met with favorable reviews like its predecessor, the film grossed $919.8 million worldwide. It scored the second-largest, three-day opening weekend in US history and the largest opening for an animated film at the time of its release.56 It went on to become the highest-grossing film of 2004 worldwide.7 Shrek 2 is also DreamWorks' most successful film to date, and it held the title of being the highest-grossing animated film of all time worldwide until Toy Story 3 surpassed it in 2010.8 The film received two Academy Award nominations for Best Animated Feature and Best Original Song, and its associated soundtrack reached the Top 10 on the US Billboard 200. A sequel entitled Shrek the Third was released in 2007. Plot Newlyweds Shrek and Fiona return from their honeymoon to find they have been invited by Fiona's parents to a royal ball to celebrate their marriage. Shrek refuses to go at first, but Fiona talks him into it, and along with Donkey, they travel to the kingdom of Far Far Away. They meet Fiona's parents, King Harold and Queen Lillian, who are shocked to see both their daughter and son-in-law are ogres, with Harold particularly repulsed. At dinner, Shrek and Harold get into a heated argument over how Shrek and Fiona will raise their family, and Fiona, disgusted at Shrek and Harold's behavior, locks herself away in her room that evening. Shrek worries that he has lost his true love, particularly after finding her childhood diary and reading that she was once infatuated with Prince Charming. Harold is reprimanded by the Fairy Godmother and her son Prince Charming by reminding him that Charming was to marry Fiona in exchange for his own happy ending. She implores him to find a way of getting rid of Shrek. Harold arranges for Shrek and Donkey to join him on a fictitious hunting trip, which is actually a trap to lure them into the hands of an assassin, Puss in Boots. Unable to defeat Shrek, Puss reveals that he was paid by Harold and offers to come along and make amends. The three sneak into the Fairy Godmother's potion factory and steal a "Happily Ever After" potion that Shrek thinks will restore Fiona's love for him. Shrek and Donkey both drink the potion and fall into a deep sleep, awakening the next morning to discover its effects: Shrek is now a handsome man while Donkey has turned into an elegant white stallion. In order to make the change permanent, Shrek must kiss Fiona by midnight. Shrek, Donkey and Puss return to the castle to discover that the potion has transformed Fiona back into her former human self as well. However, the Fairy Godmother, having discovered the potion's theft, intercepts Shrek and sends Charming to pose as him and win Fiona's love. At the Fairy Godmother's urging, Shrek leaves the castle, thinking that the best way to make Fiona happy is to let her go. To ensure that Fiona falls in love with Charming, the Fairy Godmother gives Harold a love potion to put into Fiona's tea. This exchange is overheard by Shrek, Donkey and Puss, who are arrested by the royal guards and thrown into a dungeon. While the royal ball begins, several of Shrek's friends band together to free the trio with the help of The Muffin Man's monster-sized gingerbread man, which breaks through the castle's defenses. Shrek is too late to prevent Charming from kissing Fiona, but instead of falling in love with Charming, Fiona knocks him out with a headbutt. Harold reveals that he never gave Fiona the love potion, whereupon the now-enraged Fairy Godmother attacks Shrek. In the ensuing melee, Harold sacrifices himself to save Shrek; his armor ricochets a spell cast by the Fairy Godmother which disintegrates her, and Harold is turned back into the Frog Prince, his original form. Harold gives his blessing to the marriage and apologizes for his earlier behavior, admitting his use of the Happily Ever After potion years earlier to gain Lillian's love. As the clock strikes midnight, Fiona rejects Shrek's offer to remain humans, and they happily let the potion's effects wear off and revert to their ogre forms, while Donkey changes back to his natural form as well. In the mid-credits scene, Dragon, who had previously romanced Donkey, reveals that they now have several dragon-donkey hybrid babies, much to his surprise. Cast * Mike Myers as Shrek * Eddie Murphy as Donkey * Cameron Diaz as Princess Fiona * Julie Andrews as Queen Lillian * Antonio Banderas as Puss in Boots * John Cleese as King Harold * Rupert Everett as Prince Charming * Jennifer Saunders as Fairy Godmother * Joan Rivers (US) and Kate Thornton (UK) as Red Carpet Announcer * Larry King (US) and Jonathan Ross (UK) as Doris the Ugly Stepsister * Aron Warner as Big Bad Wolf * Cody Cameron as Pinocchio and The Three Little Pigs * Christopher Knights and Simon J. Smith as Three Blind Mice * Conrad Vernon as Gingerbread Man, Muffin Man, Mongo, Cedric and Announcer * Chris Miller as Magic Mirror * Mark Moseley as Mirror and Dresser * Kelly Cooney as Fast Food Clerk * Kelly Asbury as Page; Elf, Nobleman and Nobleman's son * Andrew Adamson as Captain of the Guards Category:DreamWorks Animation Category:DVD Category:VHS Category:Non-Pixar animated films